Family outraged by disabled woman's arrest

Saturday

Aug 23, 2014 at 7:59 PMAug 23, 2014 at 8:03 PM

HESPERIA —Friends and family of a disabled Hesperia woman say they are baffled and upset after the woman was arrested Friday evening on suspicion of being under the influence of drugs.Kylee Olsen, 25, who was born with fetal alcohol syndrome, was sitting at the bus stop near the Target Superstore on Main Street in Hesperia when San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies picked her up in a “drug sweep,” her father said.San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Watch Commander Mark Ramirez said the Hesperia Station was conducting a “SMASH Gang Sweep” on Friday. He said he could not release any details regarding the woman’s arrest or respond to the family’s allegations. Her family and friends say she was “wrongfully” arrested. Olsen’s name appears in San Bernardino County inmate locator records with a charge for “being under the influence of a controlled substance.” According to the jail records, she was cited and released at about 12:50 a.m. Saturday.Olsen said she was arrested at about 5 p.m. Friday and that she told police she had “special needs” and asked them to release her. She said the officer laughed at her and gave no response. “I’m a retired fire captain and this is just the most outrageous thing I’ve ever heard in my life,” said Olsen’s father, Steve Olsen. “I am a total supporter of law enforcement, but this was wrong. This was out of control.”Steve Olsen said when he received a call from the deputy regarding her arrest he also told the deputy she had a disability and asked them to release her. The officer told him she was being arrested on suspicion of using methamphetamine and that she could be picked up in six to eight hours. Kylee Olsen said she was not handcuffed but was placed in a police car and rode around with deputies while they continued to conduct their sweep. She said she believed they acted unprofessionally as they talked and laughed while they stopped others in their cars.“The guy was also laughing at me when I got arrested,” Olsen said. “I don’t know if they were making fun of me or what.”The family is originally from Provo, Utah, and Steve Olsen said his daughter has a “clean police record,” has never used drugs, or even taken a sip of alcohol. He said the results of her drug test Friday was negative.“It’s like arresting a 5-year-old kid,” Steve Olsen said. “If the guy could not figure out that she has disabilities he is just an idiot. This one is just so obvious.”Deputies reportedly asked 4-foot-10-inch Kylee Olsen why her eyes were red and if she had been using drugs. Olsen said she told them she had allergies and had taken antibiotics earlier in the week for dental work.“They stopped me when I was getting on the bus,” said Kylee Olsen. “They asked me when I had last used meth and I said I had never used it. They said my pupils were completely red and put me in the back of the car. ... I was really scared. I didn’t know what to do.”A family friend, Elizabeth Newman, said she believes that officers need to “at the very least be trained or offer an apology.”“Just the thought that she would be on drugs or someone even accused her of that is just completely mind-blowing,” Newman said. “We should not fear arrest for (having) allergy eyes. And our special needs community members should be allowed to take the bus to the store for a candy bar if they have the capacity to make the trip.”Brooke Self may be reached at 760-951-6232 or BSelf@VVDailyPress.com. You can also follow her on Twitter at @BrookeSelf or @DPEduNews.